I'd Tell You, But Then I'd Have To Kiss You
by Never2late78
Summary: Piper King lives an almost-perfect life. She lives and works in Paris, has lots of friends, and life is almost completely stress-free. That is, until she meets Aaron Cross, someone who is mysterious, intriguing, and dangerous. The closer she gets to Aaron, the closer the danger is to her. (Terrible summary, but the story is better!) Rated M just to be safe


Piper finished wiping up the mess left from some customers that just left the restaurant she worked at. As much as she sometimes loved where she worked, the restaurant was right on the river Seine in Paris, she had to admit that the usual patrons were pigs. She grabbed the three half-full glasses off the table and balanced them in one arm and grabbed the rag. She walked precariously into the kitchen and set everything down. She leaned over the counter and let out a deep breath. She desperately needed this day to be over. She'd worked a double shift today, and it was approaching midnight, and she had family coming to visit in a couple weeks. She needed sleep and she needed relaxation. Thank-god her shift ended in 15 minutes.  
The sound of someone ringing the little bell at the front counter popped her out of her haze. Why the hell wasn't Claire at the counter? She forced herself out the doors of the kitchen and went to the counter. Without really glancing up, she asked "How can I help you today?" A gruff voice answered "Isn't a little late to be called 'day'?" She looked up to see piercing blue eyes looking at her, and a brilliant smile to match. "Oh, um, yeah, I guess it is." She could feel some heat rising up to her cheeks. 'Seriously? How is one comment making me blush already? Keep it under control, Piper!' she thought to her herself. "So, um, is it just for one tonight?" "Yes. It will be, I like the time to think." "Alright, well right this way sir." She led him to a table closest to the river, which was easy since he was the only customer at the restaurant. He sat down, and she noticed that he sat with his knees about 4 miles apart. That would be a distraction. 'No, it CAN'T be a distraction. Not right now.' "So, I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order." She spun around and started to walk away. "Actually," he reached out and touched her hand to stop her, "I've never eaten in Paris before, could you tell me what's good here?" Piper thought about their menu while trying to ignore the tingles in her fingertips. "Well, I personally like the Pesto Chicken Penne." She mustered up the most normal smile she could, one that didn't show that she was extremely nervous and bashful around this man. "That sounds fantastic. I'll take it." He handed her the menu with a smile. She gazed at him. She looked at his eyes that seemed to look right into her soul, his dazzling smile that melted her, the scruff around his chin that she wanted to run her hands along, and his strong jaw. Her eyes wandered down, down to his neck where the veins looked like they might just pop out, then to his shoulders, and finally to his arms. Oh god, his arms. She could pick out 6 different bulging muscles just in his forearm, and if she thought the veins in his neck were bad. She realized that she had been standing there just long enough for it to be an awkward moment. She took the menu and hurried back to the kitchen again.  
Once again, she leaned over the counter to catch her breath; it seemed she was in this position almost every day at work. She wandered over to Andy, the only cook left working, "Pesto Chicken Penne" she told him. He got right to work and started to prepare the sauce. She sat down at one of the chairs they had lying around the kitchen and buried her face in her hands. The last thing that she needed right now was to get a stupid crush on some stranger.  
Andy came over to her and told her that the dish was ready. Piper composed herself and grabbed the hot bowl. She walked over to the man's table and set the pasta down. "Voila," she said with a smile "pesto chicken penne." He looked at the pasta with desire that Piper had only seen on people who were in love. She let out a little chuckle at that thought and he looked up at her quizzically. "What's so funny?" He asked. "Well, it's just, that ah, I've never seen someone look at pasta quite like you just did. You must be pretty hungry.". "Yeah, it's been a long day." He said without looking back up. "Well, enjoy your pasta." He smiled up at her and she really got a good look at his face again, this time she tried not to let his eyes that sparkled underneath the lights of the patio distract her. She turned on her heels and before she even had a chance to take a step away, he touched her arms again. "Hey, um, would you mind sitting here with me?" She stopped. What did he say? She turned around to face him, he was smiling nervously. "I, I can't." She started, "I'm still working." She glanced down at her watch, 12:08. "Actually, I got off about 2 minutes ago." "Great. That means you can sit with me. It's a little lonely out here when you're the only one." Piper looked around, he was right; there was not another soul to be found in the restaurants surrounding them. Piper contemplated what to do, on one hand: this man was extremely attractive and he was so intriguing to her. On the other hand: she knew absolutely nothing about him, and she was so tired she could have fallen over. Her adventurous, and romantic side, won. She took the chair opposite him and sat down. He grinned. "So, what's your name stranger?" She asked with a smile. "Ethan. Ethan Miller." He smiled back at her. "How 'bout you?" "My name's Piper." She said. "Last name?" He asked, again with that smile of his. "Oh, sorry, King." She said with a little giggle. "Piper King" He repeated,"It has a nice ring to it" "Thanks" she said. There was a silence between them, Piper hated silence so she started to play some music on her phone. Ethan choked down the food in his mouth then exclaimed "I LOVE THIS SONG!" She let out a laugh. "I love Billy Squier, and the song seemed fitting." She said as 'Lonely is the Night' played on. "Well, not so much anymore," he said, a smile creeping onto his lips, "now that you're here." She felt heat rise to her cheeks, "Thank-you." she said, looking down at her lap. They spent almost 2 hours talking about their shared interests, from classic rock, to their taste in movies and books, and whatever the conversation led to. Piper finally glanced down at her watch again. "Holy shit!" she said, "It's almost 2 in the morning! I have to get home, I have to clean..." She hurriedly got up from the table all the while mentioning everything that she needed to get down. "I'm so sorry, I had a great time talking to you, but I really have to go. I'm so sorry." This time, when she ran off, Ethan had no time to reach out to bring her back. "Wait!" He called out. "Wait! Piper!" He cried again, but she was already disappearing into the night.


End file.
